posted Oct 14, 2006

I would say at Gloucester Anthony Allen is a bigger up and coming young star than Ryan Lamb

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posted Oct 14, 2006

Rhys Clyburn, and I’ve been supporting Cardiff Blues since they were formed in 2003 and Cardiff RFC since the mid 90’s.

Your Key player
My key player for the Blues would have to be Xavier Rush. Many people said he was coming over to pick up the pay-check, but since arriving at the Blues, Rush has been our stand-out player. His ball carrying and his ability to breaks tackles, provides momentum for our talented back line to take advantage of. As the new Blues captain, a lot will depend on his leadership on and off the field this season.
A special mention should also go to Mike Phillips. He has been one of the driving forces behind the Blues recent revival since arriving last season.

Your young star
My young star is without a doubt the young winger Chris Czekaj. Coming from Cardiff he is a real homegrown talent, with enough pace and skill to trouble any defence. He is still young, so needs to strengthen physically and gain experience, but he is sure to add to his 2 Welsh caps soon.

Expectations in the Heineken cup this season
The Blues seem to have their tails up this season following a strong finish to last season (finishing the best Welsh side in the Celtic League) and strong performances in the EDF cup. They have had the real misfortune of being drawn in the pool of death with the current European champions Munster, the former European champions Leicester and the French powerhouses Bourgoin. I do not see us progressing past the pool stages. A realistic aim would be to beat Bourgoin and either Leicester or Munster at home, and compete with the other teams away from home.

A bit of info on your coach
David Young is a true legend of the game. Born in Aberdare in 1967, he played rugby from a young age. He won 51 caps for Wales at prop over a 14-year period, captaining them 12 times. He also went on 3 lions tours. He played rugby league for six years, captaining the national team in that code and winning 14 caps. He took over as coach of Cardiff in 2002 with no coaching experience. He has had a rough time, with Cardiff achieving very little success since he took over. He has survived many calls for his head (including from me!) and his Blues side seemed to have at last turned a corner.

What match day at your ground is like
The Cardiff Arms Park (capacity of 12,500) is one of the most famous rugby club grounds in the world and is steeped in history. When it is full the atmosphere inside the ground is electric, especially in the terraces. The crowd are right next to the pitch and the adjacent Millennium Stadium is a looming presence. The grounds location right in the middle of Cardiff city centre makes match day’s great fun.

Anything else you think will be of interest
Cardiff are the only welsh team to have reached the Heineken cup final, in its first season as a competition.

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posted Oct 14, 2006

- your name and how long you've been supporting the club

I'm Arash and I've been supporting Leinster for 3 years.

key player

It's got to be Felipe Contepomi: the cups highest point scorer last year, he is an inspiration to whole the team, with his fantastic running and solid kicking skills, the multi-talented fly half can evade almost anyone, plus his affinity for punching Munster players is always a plus!

young star

Luke Fitzgerald is one to watch out for, in the absesnce of our internationals he's played very well in the opening Magner's League Games.

expectations in the Heineken Cup this season

After the euphoria of beating Tolouse in their backyard and the subsequent heartache of 'Black Sunday' us Leinster supporters will demand nothing less than winning the cup that has eluded us for so long.

bit of info about your coach

Michael Cheika came and gave Leinster a coherent direction after lacklustre coaches such as Declan Kidney et all. allowed us to coast along. Last year Checks got us to the semi-finals, and with our new players I think he can give us two better this time round.

What match day at your ground is like

We have 3 grounds at the moment (always one better than Munster) but unlike our turnip munching country men we can play well at home or away, the best atmosphere has to be at our most recent stadium the RDS, hopefully Leinster will be back there next year when its redeveloped.

anything else you think will be of interest

Leinster will be hungry for revenge after last years thumping by Munster we will be hoping for a re-match to shut them up.

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posted Oct 16, 2006

- your name and how long you've been supporting the club

Hi im Paul Stewart and have been supporting Edinburgh for 5 years now.

- your key players
Chris paterson for his goalkicking and dougie hall for his power in the scrum

- young star
centre Rob Dewey was called into the scotland squad before being injured last year.Scored 4 tries in as many games before his injury.

- expectations in the Heineken Cup
this season
To get out of the pool stages would be a great achievement but is within our grasp

- who is your coach and what's he like?
our coach is the newly appointed welshman Lynn Howells who has a decent record including a welsh championship with cardiff

- what's the match day atmosphere at your ground like
Atmosphere is Ok but is drowned out by the massive Murrayfield stadium.Seems to be a better atmosphere for the big Heineken cup games such as Toulouse and Wasps in recent seasons.

- any other business - anything else you think will be of interest
Edinburgh were the first scottish team to reach the Heineken cup quarter finals in 2003 - 2004

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posted Oct 16, 2006

My name is Stewart Duffin and i have been a season ticket holding supporter of edinburgh for 7 seasons
- Key Player
Chris Paterson (wing/fullback) if he is on form and kicking well the team normally wins.
- Young Star
Rob Dewey (centre/wing) burst onto last season but got injured in the fist Heineken cup game, Ben Cairns has also been playing wel this season.
- expectations
If edinburgh play to their potential they should qualify and after that anything is possible, we have already beaten the current champions away from home!
-Coach
Edinburgh`s coach just now is Lynn Howells dont know much about him not been in the job long but the signs look good so far.
-Atmosphere
for Heineken match days there is alway bit of spice to the atmosphere and this season the crowds are bigger and louder
-Extra info
Most edinburgh games now have a theme, for the recent derby game against Glasgow it was the battle of the Bravehearts and for the upcomming Heineken cup game the theme is Monster Mash (halloween)

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posted Oct 16, 2006

Alastair and Ive been supporting Ulster for a fair while now.
your name and how long you've been supporting the club
-KEY PLAYER
I think David Humphreys will be the key figure in Ulsters Heineken Cup Run, a fabourite at Ravenhill and has the experience to carry the team through difficult matches, also helps the younger lads of the squad to adapt to the games.
-YOUNG STAR
Andrew Trimble, it may sound like im jumping on the bangwagon here but this man is a class act. Good Hands, Bags of Pace and a side step that could unlock any defence.
- EXPECTATIONS
Expect some major upsets when we are playing at home but my fear is how well we will travel, Tolouse away is a daunting match and Stradey Park is no easy place either but the boys will front up well to it, I could see us realisticly qualifying for the quarters.
-COACH
Mark McCall, knows his stuff and is good with the media, has been welcomed in Belfast since day one has been cracking so far. Keep up the good work.
- ATMOSPHERE
You cant find any better place than Ravenhill for a party atmosphere and real passion with the game. We feel like we are on the pitch with the boys. Best Supporters in the Magners League by far.
-OTHER FACTS
Lets hope by the end of the Heineken Cup every one will be standing up for the Ulster Men. Ali

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posted Oct 16, 2006

My names Graham and i've been supporting the Border Reivers since they were brought back from the Edinburgh Reivers. Was suporting them up until then.

My key player has to be Chris Cusiter. Captain and inspiration to the team. Seems to be back on form.

Young star is Andy Miller. The openside flanker has been a constant performer for the side for the past couple of seasons and how Frank Hadden keeps ignoring him I do not know! Does the hard grafting work and turnsover lots of ball. Nick De Luca is also playing well and seems dangerous in attack.

Hopefully a couple of wins. Good results at Netherdale are within the teams reach but I think qualifying out the group is possibly beyond us. But you never know, I remain hopeful.

Steve Bates is a good coach. Turned around a pool of players from the team propping up the table to a team which even the big names like Leinster and Ospreys are wary of. Does well with the little resources.

Netherdale is one of the smaller grounds. Attendances have been pretty poor up until now but with some big names coming through the supporters will hopefuly come and I'd love to see a packed Netherdale. Can be a good atmosphere with the smallness of the ground and closeness to the pitch.

A fantastic victory over Leinster on Friday. One of the best games I've been to and hopefully we will grow from here.

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posted Oct 17, 2006

My Names Dai, and live in London, but follow the celtic league, and the premiership, very closly. My team is the Ospreys, who have come back this year with a very stong squad, that isn't depleated by injury.

Key Person is Henson. The Ospreys have a good pack. They will dominate the medium size packs, and face up against the gigger packs like wasps. Obviously with Marshall as Scrum half, he will cause problems. But if Henson can perform, and find his form of 2005, then with the immesily talented back line the ospreys have, they could be a formidable side this season.

They have enough good ball carrying forwards, to to stop oppostion, spreading out along the line, and stopping the backs play.

Look forward to seeing them in the final

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posted Oct 25, 2006

My name is Sean. I live in London but my family are from Waterford so naturally I follow Munster. Our key player has to be Paul O'Connell as he is a true leader.
Our young star is Barry Murphy who should shine in this seasons competition afetr being injured last year.
After the Leicester match I see no reason why we can't retain the cup with Declan Kidney in charge.
As for the fans, the final last year was the most intense day of my life and being there made me appreciate just how good our fans are at inspiring the team.

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posted Oct 26, 2006

A Team Profile for Agen
Me
Doug Revell.
I live near Agen, have been watching them for several years, and have had a season ticket for the last two.
Key Player
Caucaunibuca is one of the world’s great wingers. He’s very fast, immensely strong, and has a deceptive change of pace. Given room he is lethal and it’s rare to see him brought down by just one tackler; it usually takes two or three, which creates gaps for the other players. He hadn’t played or trained seriously since last May, got typhoid in June, and had been in France just 6 days when he played against Edinburgh Gunners. He was Man of The Match!
Young Star
Fabrice Culine. There aren’t a lot of young players in the current Agen team, though there are several very good ones on the fringes. Culine is a youth programme product who entered the team at 7 last year. He is rumoured to have had an argument with Faugeron in training during the pre-season, and wasn’t in the squad for some early games. But he’s exceptional – powerful, good positional sense, fast, a fine tackler, very safe hands in the lineout and with immense confidence.
Expectations
Modest, frankly. The problem is they travel very badly. They’re close to unbeatable at home, but can go down to anyone away. If they can beat Gloucester at Kingsholme …?
Coach
Didier Faugeron and Loïc Van der Linden are Agen’s new coaches. It’s early days, but there are signs that the team – particularly the pack – are becoming more disciplined, and giving away fewer silly penalties, which could make a big difference. If they can just get the team to play well away anything is possible. Faugeron spent his career – playing and coaching – at Brive, so it’s his first time with another club.
Match Atmosphere
Stade Armandie has a marvellous atmosphere. The crowd isn’t the noisiest, but they are very friendly (around a third of the crowd are usually women and children) and welcoming to opposing supporters. There are several bars, and the chips are excellent!
AOB
Agen have more overseas players than any of the other Top 14 clubs but they seem amazingly well integrated. The original BBC club profile mentions Meeuws but he’s hardly played a full game this season because of injuries, and is currently recovering from an operation. Influential players include Elhorga, at fullback, who has also played on the wing for France and is utterly fearless, very fast with great hands and a good kicker.
Lafforgue at 14, who plays at full back if Elhorga isn’t available, is an excellent captain. A very tough man, when asked why he started a fight that got him banned for two months last season he replied simply “He insulted me, so I hit him”. He’s a good contrast to Caucanibuca on the other wing, being smaller but still very quick.
Lievremont at no 6 is probably too light and short to be a top No 6, but fortunately nobody’s told him. He’s very mobile, can perform well at the back of the lineout in spite of his lack of height. He likes a loose shirt, so always looks as though he’s borrowed one from his big brother!
Gelez the fly half is also very important. He’s an exceptional kicker and at his best can kick a penalty from anywhere in the other team’s half. He’s also a tackler in the Wilkinson mould, but fortunately seems indestructible.
Oh, and did I mention how tough the whole pack are?

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